LEVENmouth reconnected programme fills final funding gap

For nearly 10 years, we at FEAT have been developing plans for the regeneration of our base at Silverburn Park in Leven and thanks to the support of the Levenmouth Reconnected Programme we now have all the funding in place to begin restoration works to the flax mill!

A whole host of different grant funders and members of the community have pledged donations and grants towards a near £10,000,000 total project cost and delighted to say work is progressing on the final period of detailed design with a view to construction getting underway in 2023 and the new refurbished mill open to the public for 2026.  For regular progress updates visit our Silverburn Park website.

From March 2022, we are pleased to welcome Drew & Rab from Falling UP and Dougie McPhail, experienced Mindfulness practitioner, to Silverburn Park to add to our suite of programmes for people experiencing mental health issues.

For further details, visit our "What we Do" page and if you're interested in learning more or signing up to get involved, contact us today.

The Coalfields Worx Programme, which supports young people living in former mining communities still affected by the social and economic impact of pit closures into employment, has helped three of its trainees secure jobs.

The initiative is a partnership between the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) and Fife Employment Access Trust. It offers paid training, with participants undertaking a range of environmental maintenance jobs, coupled with skills and qualification development and support to move into employment, education or training.

CRT is the primary funder, with Community Job Scotland and Fife Council also making a contribution.

The young people who have recently moved from the Coalfields Worx programme into jobs are: Cameron Skelton (26) of High Valleyfield, who is now working in environmental services with Fife Council; Jake McKenzie (21) of Kincardine, who has started a green keeping apprenticeship with Tulliallan Golf Club; and Mitchell Easton (19) of Kincardine who is in railway construction with Bam Rail.

Ross Sinclair, Coalfield Worx project leader, said: “I enjoy working with all the trainees who take part in the programme. It’s great to see them gain new skills and grow in confidence. I’m really pleased for the young people who have started their new jobs, and I’m sure they will do well.”

Nicky Wilson, chair of CRT in Scotland, said: “It’s great seeing young people finding employment in the local area after taking part in the Coalfields Worx Programme back. We wish them all the best in their careers. And we hope many more trainees will take part in this excellent initiative.”

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UPDATE: JANUARY 2022 : 6 out of the 6 participants have now secured sustainable employment and due to other commitments we are now closing the provision.  However, Coalfields Regeneration Trust are commissioning this service in other areas of Fife in 2022

FEAT are being included in a customer vote in Tesco stores, starting on 1st October through to to 31st December 2021.  

We'll be featured with 2 other Fife projects and the one with the most tokens on New Years Day wins £1500; £1,000 for 2nd and £500 for 3rd place.

The stores below will be participating, so if you're a Tesco shopper, please ask for your token when you make a purchase (they don't always automatically offer you a token) and let's see if we can get top prize to bring in the New Year!

ST ANDREWS METRO      
GLENROTHES EXPRESS
KIRKCALDY NICOL STREET EXPRESS            
CARDENDEN EXPRESS     

Thank you!

Earlier this year Ayanay Psychological Accreditation (APA) launched the new Ethical & Psychological 20:20 Vision Awards. These have been designed to recognise and celebrate the phenomenal work being done to tackle the EPIC challenges, associated with Mental Health in the UK. 

APA is dedicated to supporting all professionals that work in and around the world of psychology.  (Whether they are Counsellors, Psychotherapists, Coaches, Social workers, Youth Workers, Mental Health Practitioners etc.)

The response to an epic challenge must be just as epic. Their Awards focus on those organisations, charities, and individuals that Elevate Provide, Improve, Create solutions for positive Mental Heath in specific areas.

• Mental Health in the Workplace
• Contribution Award
• Youth Engagement
• Psychological Education

We are delighted to confirm that following receipt of a nomination for a Contribution Award, a nomination that, not only reflects Fife Employment Access Trust's dedication and professional commitment, to supporting those in need and the wider community, but also acknowledges the collaborative approach of the our partnerships, the team at APA have recognised our collective impact.

Dave Sleet, Managing Director of APA says, "Going above and beyond for those you engage with, be that Clients, Volunteers, the Public, or Fellow Professionals. Providing a safe and constant support that not only elevates positive communication, improves long-term outcomes and creates a mental health resilience that will empower clients to achieve a life long understanding of their full potential. APA is therefore delighted to award Fife Employment Access Trust and Partners an Ethical & Psychological Contribution Award."

On the 1st October 2021 all award winners will be entered into a Public vote with the winners in each category receiving the Annual 20:20 Vision Award. The public vote is the only vote of its kind in the UK, that promotes the examples of best practice, so that others may be inspired to respond in their own EPIC way to the world of Mental Health.  

Our work to regenerate Silverburn Park has received some national interest and pleased to say we're appearing on BBC's "Landward" programme later this month!

Tune in at 8.30 pm on Thursday 24th June to see the premiere, thereafter available on BBC iPlayer.

Two of our volunteer Board members, Brian Robertson and John Ennis, discuss our work with host JJ Chalmers - looking forward to seeing the final cut!

Our staff member and former service-user, William, is featured within an inspiring evening of short documentaries on Tuesday 25th May 2021.

William's story (Stolen Years) is summarised in a film on our homepage, however this extended version by filmmaker Jeremiah Quinn was selected by Shorts on Tap to feature in a hard-hitting online event.

It's free to register and see all six short documentaries by visiting Shorts on Tap, and there is a bonus opportunity to take part in a Q&A session after the airing with William and Jeremiah.

It's a must-see film, hope you can make it!

We will move out of our premises in Glenrothes this week after twenty years in the town, relocating  into Silverburn Park near Leven with our services now being based outdoors and on online. We took on the lease for the 27-acre public park in 2019. 

“It made sense to be closer to Silverburn as it has proved more and more useful to be able to get clients into nature, which is so helpful for everyone’s mental health. Some of our courses, such as ‘Employ Your Mind’, are already being run completely outdoors. We also have a number of clients volunteering at the park and some have even ended up with a job there,” said Duncan Mitchell CEO of FEAT. “In addition our services have moved online over the past year due to the pandemic and so it was a no brainer. We can now save money and cut our carbon footprint too.” 

We are also fundraising at present for a multi-million pound visitor centre and community hub within the park, which will include offices for FEAT plus a café and restaurant, a shop, backpackers’ hostel with en-suite rooms, arts and craft studios, public toilets with fully accessible Changing Space facilities, as well as spaces for meetings, events and learning. The premises, which it is hoped will open in 2025, when it is planned the Levenmouth Railway will be operational, will take what the charity do to new level. People will be able learn new skills, train in different roles and gain employment. 

On Monday (18 Jan 2021) the park will host a 300 plus lantern community art installation, focussing on local the heritage industries of linen and paper making by using images of flax flowers and paper. The installation is a pilot project to see how such heritage crafts could be received when carried out in the new building. It will be held as part of Blue Monday – January 18th - supposedly the most depressing day of the year and focusses on helping support people with their mental health in these challenging times. We need to raise further funds to complete the build and have so far raised more than £22,000 via a community crowdfunding campaign. However, we need to raise £2.5 million, so help is still needed. To support the Crowdfunder log onto: www.greenspacescotland.org.uk/silverburn-flax-mill or text FLAX to 70085 to donate £5. Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message or choose your own amount e.g. FLAX10 to 70085. This can be anything from £1 to £20. 

We are proud to announce the launch of the Silverburn Flax Mill ‘Buy A Brick’ Campaign. We hope to raise £1,500 by Christmas towards the re-pointing and renovation of the Flax Mill’s 30,000 iconic red bricks. “Buying” a virtual brick will help us to achieve the multi-million pound fundraising target which will enable the transformation of Silverburn Park’s Flax Mill.

The campaign will allow people to buy into the future of Silverburn Park by donating £15 per brick, a unique gift for a loved-one this Christmas.

Each brick will be carefully repointed and repaired, bringing the currently derelict B-listed former Flax Mill building back to life, the jewel in the crown of Silverburn Park. A park that was gifted by the Russell Family to the people of Fife, and the people of Levenmouth in particular, as a place of quiet reflection.

A special gift for people who love Silverburn Park

The brick certificate, emailed to you or your loved-one, will make an ideal gift for people who love the park and want to see it revived. An ideal gift for coastal path walkers, cyclists, runners, dog walkers, Scottish heritage enthusiasts, families who love the park, people who want to see Levenmouth thrive. If you can’t visit your loved-ones this Christmas then send them something meaningful and look forward to meeting in the park.

Each brick renovation costs £15 and the money raised will go towards the multi-million-pound Silverburn Flax Mill Visitor Centre and Community Hub, set to open in 2025, in time for the opening of the Levenmouth Rail Link.

To commemorate your gift:

- A personalised Brick Renovation Certificate

- Information about the Flax Mill project. If you are a family, business or organisation and would like to contribute ten or more bricks, you will have your business name credited on our website.

If you like our project mention us on social media using the below hashtags.

#flaxmillrevival

#silverburnflaxmill

#GiveBack2020

Buy your brick(s) today by visiting the dedicated brick web page!

The new team of consultants enlisted to take forward the regeneration of Silverburn Park came together for an induction day at Silverburn Park in January 2020. Great group of experts with vast experience, really exciting, if very cold, day to launch the next chapter of our plans!

The team comprises specialist knowledge in a variety of areas from business planning and project development to evaluation, fundraising, interpretation and an historian, supporting the staff team at FEAT along with volunteers from our Board of Directors.

Further updates are available on our Silverburn facebook page and dedicated website.

Press Release October 2019  

FIFE CHARITY WINS SHARE OF £1MILLION GIVEAWAY 

A charity that supports young people with mental health conditions has been awarded a share of a £1,000,000 fund supporting under-18s as a part of Persimmon Homes’ hugely successful Building Futures campaign.

Fife Employment Access Trust help young people (and adults) self-manage their conditions and prepare to enter into paid employment. The trust was one of 96 organisations from the length and breadth of the UK to reach the final stage of its Building Futures competition. 

From February to May, Building Futures has also given away £128,000 to 128 organisations supporting young people in sport, education & arts and health throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

The competition culminated in a gala dinner at York Racecourse on Tuesday, where three finalists were each awarded the top prize of £100,000, three the second prize of £50,000 and three the third prize of £20,000. The remaining 87 finalists were handed £5,000 each.

Fife Employment Access Trust represented the health category for Persimmon Homes North Scotland receiving £5,000. Duncan Mitchell at Fife Employment Access Trust, said: “Taking part in Building Future has been a fantastic experience for us and it was so exciting to reach the finals. It was a very emotional evening with such a broad range of groups being represented and we are delighted to have been awarded £5,000."

Stephen Profili, managing Director at Persimmon Homes North Scotland, said: “The Building Futures scheme has been a great success and we had a brilliant evening at York Racecourse celebrating the fantastic work of so many organisations supporting young people in our communities.

“We have been overwhelmed by both the response to the competition, and the hard work and dedication of those involved within all the groups.”

The first, second and third prize winners were decided by a public vote and more than 225,000 votes were cast.

The £100,000 prize winner in the sport category was Scrappers Gym based in Swindon, Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association secured the award for education &arts and the Young People’s Counselling Service Annabelle Davis project in Peterborough was handed the health award.

The second prize awards of £50,000 went to Leeds Rowing Club for sport, UK Astronomy in Milton Keynes for education & arts and Norwich-based Toy Like Me for health.

Andover BMX Club scooped £20,000 for sport in third place, while Wargrave House in Newton-le Willows won the education & arts award and Butterwick Hospice Kidz Club in Stockton was handed the health award.

Iain added: “Getting involved with causes across our region has been an amazing experience and we will continue to support groups and charities through our Community Champions initiative.”

Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) are celebrating a significant award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the future of Silverburn Park in Leven.

FEAT are a Fife-wide award-winning mental health and employment specialist charity, also celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and are celebrating an award of £374,600 initially by the Fund to enter the formal development phase of the project which ultimately aims to renovate the B-listed former flax mill in the Park into a hub of commercial and community activities ranging from a hostel, café and community space, serving local people and visitors from the Fife Coastal Path.

Duncan Mitchell, General Manager at FEAT, says, “It’s been a long road to get to this point and I have to thank Fife Council and particularly current and previous members of the Levenmouth Area Committee who gave us the opportunity to lease the Park and hopefully spark new life into the site with wider benefits for the local community.”

It was back in 2012 that Fife Council marketed Silverburn as a development opportunity as a way of securing its regeneration, while at the same time safeguarding public access and the natural and historical value, with FEAT being named as the preferred partner.

Since then a wealth of activity has taken place to begin the regeneration of the Park and undertake the feasibility studies, community consultations and detailed designs – as well as fully cost the renovations work.

Duncan adds, “The funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund will now enable us to focus on securing the remainder of the funding needed to complete the construction phase of the project and finalise the designs for the renovation of the mill, as well as maintaining our vision to develop the Park as a place of quiet enjoyment, conserving the cultural values of the landscape and buildings, supporting the health & wellbeing of the community and enhancing the habitat and biodiversity of the environment. The funding will also support FEAT to ensure that meaningful training, volunteering, work experience and employment opportunities are available to their core client group and the surrounding community.

Once we can establish the final project, it will also be an income-generator for the charity and therefore reduce our reliance on grant funding to sustain our core work.”

FEAT will continue to work in partnership with Fife Council throughout this next phase of the programme, as well as Fife Historic Buildings Trust who have extensive experience – and success – of supporting successful implementation of similar projects across the Kingdom.

Further details of FEAT’s vision and aims for the Park are available at www.silverburnpark.co.uk and regular updates on the current daily activities at the Park are on their facebook page. Those developments have included managing volunteer and training programmes, opening a small café last year with plans to open a campsite this year as a pre-cursor to the flax mill re-development. 

FEAT have also delivered a wide variety of community events and this Saturday (29th June) the Friends of Silverburn group are hosting a free family fun day from 12-3 pm.

Brian Robertson, Chair of the Silverburn project Board, adds, “It’s been a long haul to get to this point of the project and we have a vast amount of work to do now to ensure we can raise the remainder of the funding required to transform the Park – however, the support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is a huge advantage to us when approaching others – they have shown faith in our plans, and our ability to deliver these plans, and everyone connected with FEAT is on cloud 9.”

Cllr Ken Caldwell convener of Levenmouth Area Committee welcomed the news saying: "This is great news for Levenmouth that FEAT has secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage fund. We're in full support of FEAT and are working closely with them on redevelopment plans for Silverburn Park. We want Silverburn to be an asset for the community; somewhere everyone can enjoy."

Christine May, Chair of Fife Historic Buildings Trust said, "All at FHBT are so proud to have helped the Silverburn team to achieve this wonderful financial support, the result of months of hard work and co-operation. We are looking forward to getting stuck in with all the partners involved and to making the dream a reality."

Twenty-five years after our foundation, Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) have won a Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Award for its work supporting those with mental health problems to find employment.

The prize, presented on Tuesday evening (5th March) at a prestigious venue in Central London, includes a £10,000 grant and promotion of the organisation’s vital work before an audience of influential politicians, journalists and philanthropists. The Awards are also known as the Oscars for the Voluntary Sector.

According to the Scottish Government, around one in three people are estimated to be affected by mental illness in any one year. Many of these struggle to find or maintain stable employment.

Duncan Mitchell, General Manager of FEAT, said: "Day in, day out we get to work with people experiencing severe disadvantages in life due to their mental health and help them to unlock their ability and talent to overcome their daily challenges in life. It is an honour to help them on their journeys.

“Winning this award is an enormous boost to everyone associated with FEAT, particularly to the staff and volunteers who constantly go far beyond the call of duty to achieve life-changing outcomes for the people who inspire us every day.

“This year we are celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary and what a way to mark it. We hope this award will lead on to even bigger and better things for us and the amazing people we serve.”

Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said “FEAT innovates new techniques and approaches to solving some of the most pressing issues in the field of mental health. Among these, the inability to find and maintain regular work is paramount.“The dignity of work and the confidence it instils are crucial to solving mental health problems.“The CSJ recognises FEAT’s innovation, efficiency and compassion in helping people find work and rebuild their lives. We wish them another twenty-five years of stellar achievement.”

Video footage from the Awards, featuring FEAT staff is available by clicking here 

About the CSJ Awards

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) exists to prevent and tackle poverty across Britain.

The CSJ Awards is an annual, high profile award ceremony that honours the best grassroot, poverty-fighting charities and social enterprises from across Britain. 

There are five categories for which prizes are awarded: addiction support and recovery, family support, work and employment, education and social mobility, and crime prevention and rehabilitation.

The five winners each receive a £10,000 grant and are profiled in front of hundreds of leading figures from across the country. This enables them to scale their impact and gives senior politicians, philanthropists and business and charity leaders the chance to be inspired by and learn from them. 

It gives award winners unique opportunities to connect with other people passionate about furthering the cause of social justice in Britain.

We are celebrating success in 2019, having been shortlisted for two prestigious awards, locally and nationally.

We are a finalist in the Centre for Social Justice Awards (Work Category) and also the Fife Business Awards (Innovation) category, with both holding their ceremonies during March 2019 when we'll learn our fate.

This follows the success of two staff members in December 2018 who took prizes in the Fife Business Diversity Awards for overcoming barriers and successfully gaining and holding down employment with us.  Arran Ritchie took the Bronze Award and Catherine Grubb won Gold at the ceremony - huge congratulations to them both!

The Centre for Social Justice Award ceremony takes place on March 5th in London.  The CSJ Awards is an annual, high profile award ceremony that honours the best grassroot, poverty-fighting charities and social enterprises from across Britain. Five winners will receive a £10,000 grant and be profiled in front of hundreds of leading figures from across the country and we're excited to be a part of it this year.

The Fife Business Awards ceremony takes place on 29th March and will hosted by well-known personality Fred McAuley.  We are in the running for an award for our excellence in creativity and innovation.

To win either of these awards will be difficult - we're up against stiff competition indeed, however this is a great way to celebrate our 25th Anniversary whatever the result!